WII experts say feral dogs behind attacks: Sitapur DM

LUCKNOW:Sitapur district magistrate Sheetal Verma said on Thursday that experts from Wildlife Institute of India( WI I) and Humane Society of India had confirmed that feral dogs, not wild animals like wolves, were behind the attacks on children in the district.

“Experts from the WII, which is a Dehradun-based government premier institute for wildlife studies, and Humane Society of India have confirmed that feral dogs are responsible for the attacks,” said Verma.

Verma also issued a helpline number (9454417445) where residents could report feral dog sightings. She said past few incidents had proved that most attacks had taken place near mango orchards and hence villagers should ensure that no kid was sent out alone. Though villagers and the district administration had held that feral dogs were responsible for these attacks, many Lucknow-based animal activists claimed that wild animals were attacking humans. However, these groups failed to provide any conclusive scientific evidence in support of their claim.

Meanwhile, the district administration has taken measures to control dog population.

“We have established an animal birth control clinic for dogs in Sitapur where canines from these areas are being sterilised,” said the DM, adding that the district administration was not facilitating any killings of dogs.

“We have also urged residents in the affected areas not to kill any dogs and cooperate with the administrative machinery to mitigate this problem,” she added.

A total of 164 district officials had also been deployed in the affected areas to spread awareness about feral dogs and ways to protect children from such attacks, in which seven children have been killed this month itself.